A 2016 to 2017 electric sportbike with a real six-speed gearbox and wet clutch, from a brand Polaris shut down barely a year later. Decoded with real physics: where the 94 mile claim goes, what it costs to live with as an orphan, and who it is for now. Sources on everything.
A genuinely well-built electric sportbike with one famous party trick, a six-speed gearbox, orphaned when Polaris closed Victory in early 2017. Plan for ~65 real miles (not 94), 54 hp, a true 100 mph top speed, and the hard truth that the factory behind it is gone. It is a collector curiosity, not a sensible commuter.
What we will not do: invent a tidy depreciation curve for a one-year-only bike from a dead brand. What is real: the $19,999 launch MSRP, near-free charging, and that the biggest cost risk is the 10.4 kWh pack, which has no factory replacement path. See §10 and §11.
Every module behind the headlines: who it is for, claims vs. physics, true cost, the orphan-parts reality, and the standard scorecard. All sourced.
One of the only electric motorcycles ever built with a real six-speed gearbox and a wet clutch, built on the Brammo Empulse lineage Polaris had absorbed. It made 54 hp and 61 lb-ft from a 10.4 kWh pack, ran a genuine 100 mph, and stopped on Brembo brakes. Then Polaris closed Victory in early 2017 and it became an orphan after barely a year. Plan for ~65 real miles (not 94), and treat it as a collectible curiosity, not a daily. Here is exactly how we get there.
Start here, the right answer depends entirely on who is asking, and in 2026 that answer is narrow.
Same bike, very different answer depending on the rider. Because this is a discontinued, factory-orphaned machine, the honest verdicts skew cautious. We lead every report with this so nobody buys the wrong machine.
The real sweet spot. The Empulse TT is the electric bike with a gearbox, from a brand that no longer exists. As a documented piece of early-EV-motorcycle history it is genuinely special and rare.
If you are comfortable sourcing parts independently and living without a factory, the shared Brammo and Empulse R lineage means some components overlap. You become your own dealer.
Street-legal and capable, but ~65 real miles, ~3.5 hour charging, and no factory support make it a risky daily. One unobtainable part can sideline it indefinitely. A poor everyday choice.
This is not a cheap way into electric riding. The orphan status, the irreplaceable battery, and the rarity work against you. A current, supported EV will cost less to live with.
Same bike, two stories. The struck-through line is what the listing tells you; the big number is what to actually expect. The "why" is in Part C.
What is genuinely clever, and which "innovations" are really table-stakes. The part the brochure never tells you.
The Empulse TT's standout features, rated honestly. Each badge tells you whether it is a real engineering edge, normal for its era, or marketing gloss.
The headline oddity. Almost every other EV motorcycle went single-speed direct drive. The Empulse TT kept a sequential six-speed box and a multi-plate wet clutch, with a quirky neutral between second and third, so you can also just select third and twist-and-go.
★ Genuine edgeAn internal permanent magnet AC motor giving real, useful performance for a 2016 EV, with selectable Eco and Sport modes. A credible sportbike powertrain, not a science project.
✓ SolidDual front Brembo discs with radial four-piston calipers and adjustable suspension. This was equipped like a genuine sportbike, which is why testers treated it as a motorcycle that happens to be electric, not the reverse.
✓ SolidBuilt on the Brammo Empulse platform Polaris absorbed. A real engineering pedigree at launch, but today it is a double-edged inheritance: it is why some parts overlap with other Empulse machines, and also why it has no living factory.
≈ Context, not magicMarketing specs vs. the physics. The math is simple, battery capacity and a few formulas, so let us run it.
Victory quoted 54 hp and 61 lb-ft. For an electric bike the more interesting number is torque, which arrives instantly, but the horsepower converts cleanly and is honest.
The IPM AC motor's rated output is published directly, so there is no peak-versus-continuous shell game to untangle here. Cross-check it against the metric unit:
The headline gap. The 94 mile figure is an MIC city-cycle rating, a gentle, low-speed standard. Real mixed and highway riding lands closer to 65. Here is the arithmetic.
Step 1, real energy in the tank. The pack is rated at 10.4 kWh. Victory published the capacity in kWh rather than a clean voltage and amp-hour pair, with a nominal pack voltage around 103.6V. We will use the kWh directly rather than invent an Ah figure.
Step 2, how much you spend per mile. Consumption (Wh/mi) is the whole game, and it explodes with speed because drag rises with the square of speed. A gentle city-cycle sips; sustained highway at the claimed 100 mph capability drinks.
Over 100 mph claimed and verified by testers. Genuinely honest. But hitting and holding that speed is exactly what collapses the range above.
Held near 100 mph, the bike draws hard just to maintain speed, so consumption climbs sharply. Run the same range formula at a highway-flogging consumption:
So the "100 mph" and the "94 miles" on the same spec sheet are mutually exclusive: you get one or the other, never both. That is the most important thing the marketing never says out loud.
Charge time is just battery size ÷ charger power. The Empulse TT used a standard J1772 connector, so its real numbers depend entirely on the outlet.
Shopping for one of these, you will see the same bike listed with slightly different numbers. They are not all lying, here is how to read them.
| You will see | What it really is | Trust it? |
|---|---|---|
| 10.4 kWh | Brammo Power lithium-ion pack, nominal ~103.6V. The real energy figure that sets range. | real |
| 54 hp / 61 lb-ft | IPM AC motor rated output, the figure first-ride reviews report. | real |
| "~66 lb-ft" | An alternate torque figure on some aggregators. We default to the more widely reported 61 lb-ft. | cross-check |
| "94 miles range" | MIC city-cycle rating: gentle, low speed. Not highway range. | lab best-case |
| "Charges in 3.9 hr" | 240V Level 2 only. On a 120V wall outlet it is ~8 to 9 hr. | depends on outlet |
| 2016 vs 2017 | Essentially the same bike. 2017 was the final year before Victory closed. | model year |
The sticker is the smallest number in the story, and for an orphaned bike the rest is unusually uncertain.
The Empulse TT launched at $19,999 MSRP. Today it is a used, discontinued machine, so the "out-the-door" total is set by the seller and condition, not a dealer invoice.
| Line item | Typical | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Original MSRP (2016) | $19,999 | New, at launch, before Victory closed |
| Used purchase today | varies widely | Set by condition and rarity; we will not invent a figure |
| Pre-purchase battery check | essential | Pack health is the single biggest unknown |
| Riding gear (helmet, jacket, gloves) | $400–$1,000 | Non-negotiable at 100 mph |
| Registration and insurance | varies by state | Street-legal, so this applies |
| Realistic out-the-door | condition-dependent | A used-orphan total, not a sticker |
For a current production bike we itemize a full five-year cost. For a one-year-only model from a defunct brand, an honest report says where the math breaks down rather than faking precision.
What we can state honestly is the running cost, because the physics does not care that the brand closed:
What breaks, who fixes it, and whether you can get parts. For this bike, that last question is the whole story.
We read the forums and owner discussions so you do not have to, and summarize the recurring themes, framed as owners report, not cherry-picked quotes.
A bike is only as ownable as its parts supply. Here the Empulse TT is genuinely weak, and you should price that in.
With Victory closed, there is no factory parts catalog. The Empulse TT shares its lineage with the Brammo Empulse and the Victory/Brammo Empulse R, so some mechanical and electrical components overlap and can occasionally be sourced from that ecosystem or specialist owners. But supply is thin and unpredictable, the high-value battery has no factory replacement, and you should assume you will be sourcing parts independently.
| Part category | Availability | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Battery pack (10.4 kWh) | poor | No factory path; the dominant risk |
| Brakes, suspension, consumables | fair | Some are standard or shared parts |
| Brammo/Empulse-shared components | fair | Overlap helps, but supply is thin |
| Victory-specific electronics | poor | Orphaned; specialist or owner sources only |
One scorecard, identical axes on every bike.
Every e-moto on the site is scored on these same eight axes, by the same rules, so a 7 here means the same thing as a 7 anywhere. As an orphaned collector machine, the Empulse TT scores low on the practical axes and that is the honest picture.
Our standing methodology, run identically on every e-moto, including bikes we would otherwise have reason to flatter.
The only honest way to compare two batteries. When only kWh is published, as here, we use it directly rather than invent an Ah split.
You never use 0 to 100%. The BMS holds a reserve and voltage tapers at the bottom. We assume ~88%.
Consumption is the lever: gentle city sips, sustained highway drinks. Drag rises with speed².
Always ask which number a spec quotes. For EVs, torque, delivered instantly, often matters more than peak hp.
"Fast charging" is meaningless without the charger's wattage. The ×1.1 covers losses and taper.
| Cost assumption | We used | Change it if… |
|---|---|---|
| Annual mileage | 1,500 mi/yr (7,500 / 5 yr) | You ride more → maintenance & tires rise |
| Electricity rate | $0.17 / kWh (US avg) | Your utility differs |
| Sales tax | ~8% | Your state differs |
| Battery life | Unknown for an orphan; the key risk | No factory replacement path exists |
| Resale | Rarity-driven, not a standard curve | Condition & collector demand vary |
We cite everything and date it, because specs and used-market values change. Manufacturer figures are labeled as claims; real-world numbers are our estimates from the methodology above. Spot an error? Our corrections policy means we fix it in public.
Sources retrieved May to June 2026. Manufacturer pages state claimed specs; treat them as marketing figures, not independent tests. Polaris closed Victory in early 2017; OEM support no longer exists.